Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin, From Saviour to Scapegoat

Slow start to NHL Career

Drouin started in the NHL in the 2014-2015 season on a really good Tampa Bay Lightning, and scored 4 goals and 28 assists in 70 games. He didn’t get much time in Tampa’s Stanley Cup final play-off run, playing in 6 games and not scoring a point.

Then, the problems really started to roll in for Drouin. A lower body injury derailed his season in 2015-2016 in December. He was then sent down to the AHL for conditioning. Then Drouin refused to play in the AHL and demanded a trade.

Its one thing to demand a trade from the team, but another to refuse to play in the AHL and get suspended without pay. Drouin had had trouble breaking into the super talented forward corps on the Lightning. It is true that the Lightning had the likes of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat.

But at the same time, a third overall pick should not have trouble breaking onto a roster three years after his draft year. No matter how good that team is.

Then, Drouin broke off the stalemate for the play-offs and performed great. 5 goals and 14 points in 17 games. He played one more year in Tampa Bay, and it was his best year in the NHL so far: 21 goals and 53 points in 73 games. It seemed like Drouin had turned a corner and was finally realising his potential and driving up his trade value.